O-Methyltransferases of Tetrahydrobenzylisoquinoline Alkaloid Biosynthesis in Papaver Somniferum

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to methyl transfer enzymes involved in alkaloid biosynthesis in opium poppy. More particularly, the invention relates to proteins having (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase activity, to proteins having (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase activity and to derivatives and analogues of these proteins. The invention also relates to nucleic acid molecules encoding the proteins, and their derivatives and analogues, and to their use in the production of methylated catechols and tetrahydrobenzylisoquinolines.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/888,656 filed on Jul. 8, 2004, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety and which claims priority to European Patent Application Serial No. No. 03020023.2, filed Sep. 3, 2003.

The present invention relates to methyl transfer enzymes involved in alkaloid biosynthesis in opium poppy. More particularly, the invention relates to proteins having (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase activity, to proteins having (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase activity and to derivatives and analogues of these proteins. The invention also relates to nucleic acid molecules encoding the proteins, and their derivatives and analogues, and to their use in the production of methylated catechols and tetrahydrobenzylisoquinolines.

Enzymatic methylation is a ubiquitous reaction occurring in diverse organisms including bacteria, fungi, plants and animals, and resulting in the modification of acceptor molecules for different functional and regulatory purposes. Enzymatic O-methylation is catalyzed by O-methyltransferases [E.C. 2.1.1.6.x], and involves the transfer of the methyl group of S-adenosyl-L-methionine (AdoMet) to the hydroxyl group of an acceptor molecule. S-Adenosylmethionine (AdoMet)¹-dependent O-methyltransferases (OMTs) are important components of plant natural product biosynthesis, yielding methyl ether derivatives of hydroxylated polycyclic aromatic low molecular weight compounds. Regiospecific oxygen methylation significantly contributes to the vast metabolic diversity of plant secondary metabolism.

Over the past few years, the structural genes of several plant OMTs have been isolated, often using homology-based cloning techniques which exploit the high amino acid sequence similarity observed between plant OMTs, and the presence of conserved sequence motifs (Refs 1-3). However, whilst amino acid sequence comparison can assist in the isolation of the genes, it cannot be used to reliably predict the in vivo function of plant OMTs because of the broad substrate specificities that can be found for closely related enzymes. Indeed, it has become clear that substrate discrimination by plant O-methyltransferases can vary among the same enzyme from different species, for example the different substrate specificity of coclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase of tetrahydrobenzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis from Thalictrum tuberosum (4) and from Coptis japonica (5). This can also occur within one species, as for caffeic acid 3-O-methyltransferase from Nicotiana tabacum (6). In addition, many metabolic pathways in plants are only putatively elucidated, further complicating the assignment of a function to an isolated OMT gene. Functional characterisation of the enzymes is thus not trivial.

O-Methyltransferases of phenylpropanoid and of alkaloid biosynthesis are probably the biochemically best studied in the plant natural product field. They play a particularly important role in the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, which produces more than eighty tetrahydrobenzylisoquinoline-derived alkaloids, including the narcotic analgesic phenanthrene alkaloids codeine and morphine, and the antitussive phthalidisoquinoline noscapine, the vasodilator papaverine and the antimicrobial benzo[c]phenanthridine sanguinarine.

As shown in FIG. 1, in Papaver somniferum a central biosynthetic pathway leads from two molecules of L-tyrosine to (S)-reticuline (reviewed in 7). The pathway then bifurcates as the (S)-reticuline molecule is regio- and stereospecifically transformed into committed isoquinoline subclass intermediates. Two classes of enzyme effectuate this diversification—oxidoreductases and O-methyltransferases. The latter enzymes catalyze two steps in the formation of (S)-reticuline, prior to the branch point of the morphine and sanguinarine pathways. Then in the specific pathway that leads to morphine, (S)-reticuline is oxidized by (S)-reticuline oxidase to form the dehydroreticulinium ion, which is then stereospecifically reduced to (R)-reticuline. To enter the sanguinarine pathway, the N-methyl group of (S)-reticuline is oxidatively cyclized by the berberine bridge enzyme to the bridge carbon (C-8) of (S)-scoulerine.

Requisite to metabolic engineering of commercial varieties of P. somniferum is the understanding of the alkaloid biosynthetic pathways at the molecular genetic level. However, of the enzymes involved in alkaloid biosynthesis in P. somniferum, genes encoding only six of them have been isolated to date. One of the first to be isolated was a cDNA encoding the cytochrome P-450-dependent monooxygenase (S)—N-methylcoclaurine 3′-hydroxylase (8,9) and the corresponding cytochrome P-450 reductase (10). This enzyme is common to the biosynthetic pathways of all the P. somniferum alkaloids. Specific to the sanguinarine pathway is the cDNA encoding the berberine bridge enzyme (9, 11, 12). Finally, specific to morphine biosynthesis are the cDNAs for salutaridinol 7-O-acetyltransferase (13) that results in the formation of the five-ring system of the morphinans and for codeinone reductase, the penultimate enzyme of the morphine pathway that reduces codeinone to codeine (14).

With regard to the O-methyl transferases involved in P. somniferum alkaloid biosynthesis, very little is known to date. Norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase activity and (S)-3′-hydroxy-N-methylcoclaurine 4′-O-methyltransferase activity have been detected in protein extracts of P. somniferum (29). Recently, Facchini and Park published the mRNA and amino acid sequence of a putative norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase from P. somniferum (31) However the function of the enzyme was not investigated by these authors. Decker (30) carried out a study aimed at characterizing proteins in the latex of P. somniferum using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, and demonstrated the presence of spots, which, once excised and micro-sequenced were seen to have homology with a maize O-methyl transferase. To date, however, no O-methyl transferases involved in P. somniferum alkaloid biosynthesis have been cloned and fully characterised. Moreover, to date no reports of (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase activity in P. somniferum have ever been made in the literature.

It is thus an object of the present invention to identify and characterise both at the protein and nucleic acid levels, and at the functional level, 0-methyl transferases involved in P. somniferum alkaloid biosynthesis.

More specifically, the present invention relates to the isolation and characterization of cDNAs encoding O-methyltransferases of tetrahydrobenzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis in P. somniferum, namely (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase and (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase.

In the framework of the present invention, the inventors have isolated S-Adenosyl-L-methionine:(R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase, which converts reticuline to laudanine in tetrahydrobenzylisoquinoline biosynthesis in Papaver somniferum. A proteomic analysis of P. somniferum latex indicated the presence of protein(s) showing homology to a maize O-methyltransferase (30), but gave no indication as to whether the fragments were from a single protein, and no indication of the possible function of the protein. The cDNA was amplified from P. somniferum RNA by reverse transcription PCR using primers based on the internal amino acid sequences. The recombinant protein was expressed in Spodoptera frugiperda Sf9 cells in a baculovirus expression vector. Steady state kinetic measurements with the heterologously expressed enzyme and mass spectrometric analysis of the enzymic products suggest that the enzyme is capable of carry through sequential O-methylations, first on the isoquinoline-, then on the benzyl moiety of several substrates. The tetrahydrobenzylisoquinolines (R)-reticuline (4.20 s⁻¹mM⁻¹), (S)-reticuline (4.50), (R)-protosinomenine (1.67), and (R,S)-isoorientaline (1.44) as well as guaiacol (5.87) and isovanillic acid (1.21) are O-methylated by the enzyme with the ratio k_(cat)/K_(m) shown in parentheses. A phylogenetic comparison of the amino acid sequence of this O-methyltransferase to those from forty-three other plant species suggests that this enzyme groups more closely to isoquinoline biosynthetic O-methyltransferases from Coptis japonica than to those from Thalictrum tuberosum. In addition, P. somniferum cDNAs encoding two (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferases have been isolated and similarly characterized. The present inventors have thus surprisingly discovered that different alleles of (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase exist in P. somniferum.

More specifically, the invention concerns a first protein, comprising or consisting of the Papaver somniferum (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase protein illustrated in FIG. 9 (SEQ ID NO: 2), (hereafter designated the PSOMT1 sequence), or fragments or variants of the illustrated PSOMT1 sequence. The PSOMT1 proteins of the invention thus comprise or consist of:

-   -   i) the amino acid sequence illustrated in FIG. 9 (SEQ ID NO: 2)         (“PSOMT1”) or,     -   ii) a fragment of the amino acid sequence illustrated in FIG. 9         (SEQ ID NO: 2), said fragment having at least 100 amino acids         (“i.e. fragments of PSOMT1”), or     -   iii) a variant of the amino acid sequence of FIG. 9 (SEQ ID NO:         2), said variant having at least 70% identity with the amino         acid sequence of FIG. 9 (SEQ ID NO: 2) over a length of at least         300 amino acids (i.e. “variants of PSOMT1”).

The fragments or variants of the PSOMT1 protein as defined above will be collectively referred to herein as the “PSOMT1 derivatives”.

Preferably, the PSOMT1 protein and derivatives are in dimeric form, i.e. the protein is a dimer comprising two protein sub-units, each sub-unit being chosen from any one of proteins (i), (ii) or (iii) as defined above. Both homodimers and heterodimers are within the scope of the invention. In the context of the invention, the designation “PSOMT1 proteins” includes dimeric forms of said proteins. The proteins may be purified from natural sources, or made by chemical or recombinant techniques.

According to the invention, the PSOMT1 protein and derivatives, and dimers thereof, generally have O-methyltransferase activity, particularly (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase activity. In the context of the invention, “(R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase activity” signifies the capacity of a protein to methylate (R) or (S) or (R,S)-reticuline at the 7-hydroxyl group, forming (R)-7-O-methylreticuline, (S)-7-O-methylreticuline, and (R,S)-7-O-methylreticuline, respectively. The proteins of the invention catalyse this reaction both in vivo and in vitro. Preferably, the enzymes of the invention methylate (R) or (S)-reticuline with equal efficiency, as shown by substantially equal k_(cat)/K_(m) ratios. The 7-O-methylation by PSOMT1 and derivatives preferably has a pH optimum of approximately pH 8.0, and a temperature optimum of 37° C. The (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase activity in vitro is measured using the experimental protocols described in the Examples below on purified enzyme as obtained from a eukaryotic cell, for example further to heterologous expression in a eukaryotic host, or any other suitable technique.

The PSOMT1 protein of the invention also has the capacity to methylate substrates other than (R) and (S)-reticuline. In particular, the PSOMT1 protein has the capacity to methylate in vitro the following substrates, in addition to (R)-reticuline, (S)-reticuline, at the 7-hydroxy position: guaiacol, isovanillic acid, (R,S)-orientaline, (R)-protosinomenine and (R,S)-isoorientaline. Optimal pH for these methylations are isovanillic acid: pH 7.5: (R)-protosinomenine pH 9.0; guaiacol: pH 8.0; (R,S)-isoorientaline: pH 7.5-9.0.

The PSOMT1 protein derivatives of the invention may also exhibit this capacity to methylate the above substrates in vitro.

A first preferred embodiment of the invention thus comprises the full length PSOMT1 (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase protein whose amino acid sequence is shown in FIG. 9 (PSOMT1) (SEQ ID NO: 2). The protein of the invention as illustrated in FIG. 9 has 355 amino acids, and a molecular weight of approximately 43 kDa (Genebank accession number AY268893). According to this embodiment of the invention, the full length P. somniferum enzyme may be obtained by isolation and purification to homogeneity from cell suspension culture, or from plant parts of P. somniferum, at any stage of development, and from latex of mature or immature plants. Alternatively, the enzyme may be produced by recombinant means in suitable host cells such as plant cells or insect cells. The protein may consist exclusively of those amino acids shown in FIG. 9 (SEQ ID NO: 2), or may have supplementary amino acids at the N- or C-terminus. For example, tags facilitating purification may be added. The protein may also be fused at the N- or C-terminus to a heterologous protein. A particularly preferred embodiment of the invention is a protein comprising a homodimer of the PSOMT1 sequence of FIG. 9, having an Mr of approximately 85 kDa.

According to a second embodiment of the invention, the PSOMT1 protein may comprise or consist of a fragment of the amino acid sequence illustrated in FIG. 9 (SEQ ID NO: 2), wherein said fragment has a length of at least 20 amino acids, for example at least 40 amino acids and preferably a length of 150 to 354 amino acids.

By protein “fragment” is meant any segment of the full length sequence of FIG. 9 (SEQ ID NO: 2) which is shorter than the full length sequence. The fragment may be a C- or N-terminal fragment having for example approximately 20 or 60 or 175 or 250 or amino acids, or may be an internal fragment having 20 to approximately 250 amino acids. Preferably the protein fragments have a length of 200 to 350 amino acids, for example 250 to 320 amino acids, or 275 to 300 amino acids. Particularly preferred are fragments having a length of between 255 and 350 amino acids, such as the FIG. 9 (SEQ ID NO: 2) sequence having undergone truncation at the C- or N-terminal, or short peptides having a length of 20 to 65 amino acids, for example 35 to 50 amino acids.

The protein fragments of the invention may or may not have (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase activity. Normally, fragments comprising at least 250, or at least 300 consecutive amino acids of the protein shown in FIG. 9 (SEQ ID NO: 2) are enzymatically active, i.e. have O-methyltransferase activity, particularly (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase activity.

A particularly preferred class of peptides according to the invention are peptides which comprise or consist of a stretch (or “tract”) of at least 8, preferably at least 10, and most preferably at least 25 amino acids unique to the (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase (PSOMT1) illustrated in FIG. 9 (SEQ ID NO: 2). By “unique to PSOMT1” is meant a tract of amino acids which is not present in other plant O-methyltransferases as listed in Table II below. These PSOMT1-specific peptides typically have a length of 10 to 100 amino acids, for example 12 to 70 amino acids, or 18 to 50 amino acids. Such peptides can be used for generation of PSOMT1-specific antibodies for immunodetection and immunopurification techniques.

In general, the PSOMT1 fragments of the invention may consist exclusively of part of the FIG. 9 (SEQ ID NO: 2) sequence. Alternatively, they may additionally comprise supplementary amino acids which are heterologous to the illustrated P. somniferum enzyme, for example N- and/or C-terminal extensions. Such supplementary amino acids may be amino acids from O-methyltransferase enzymes from species other than P. somniferum, thus providing a chimeric (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase enzyme, or may be purification tags, fusion proteins etc.

According to a third preferred embodiment of the invention, the protein comprises or consists of a “variant” of the amino acid sequence of FIG. 9 (SEQ ID NO: 2). By “variant” is meant a protein having at least 70% identity with the amino acid sequence of FIG. 9 (SEQ ID NO: 2) over a length of at least 300 amino acids, and preferably at least 80%, 85% or 90% identity with the amino acid sequence of FIG. 9, over a length of at least 300 amino acids. Particularly preferred are variants having at least 90% or at least 95% identity, for example 95.5 to 99.9% identity. Preferred variants have sequences which differ from the amino acid sequence illustrated in FIG. 9 (SEQ ID NO: 2) by insertion, replacement and/or deletion of at least one amino acid, for example insertion, replacement and/or deletion of one to 10 amino acids, or one to five amino acids. Variants differing from the FIG. 9 (SEQ ID NO: 2) sequence by one to ten amino acid replacements are particularly preferred, for example two, three, four or five amino acid substitutions. Such variants may or may not have (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase activity, as defined previously. Preferably, the variants have this activity.

Particularly preferred “variant” proteins of the invention are allelic variants of PSOMT1, or PSOMT1 proteins arising from expression of other members of a PSOMT1 gene family. For example, there may exist within a given species of Papaver, or within a given genotype of P. somniferum, variants of the PSOMT1 gene containing a number of single point polymorphisms, some of which may give rise to changes in amino acid sequence. Typically, these variants contain one to fifteen amino acid substitutions, for example one to ten, or one to six, with respect to the FIG. 9 (SEQ ID NO: 2) sequence. Amino acid changes are usually conservative, with a neutral amino acid such as isoleucine or serine being replaced by another neutral amino acid such as valine or alanine, or an acidic amino acid such as aspartic acid being replaced by another acidic amino acid such as glutamic acid etc. (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase activity is usually conserved.

Other PSOMT1 variants of the invention include proteins which again have at least 70% identity with the amino acid sequence of FIG. 9 (SEQ ID NO: 2) over a length of at least 300 amino acids, and which contain at least part of one or more of the conserved amino acid motifs shown as shaded boxes (Motifs A, J, K, B, C and L) in FIG. 3 (PSOMT1 sequence). In accordance with this variant of the invention, the partial motifs which are conserved are as follows:

Part of Motif A: LVDVGGG (SEQ. ID NO: 26) Part of Motif B: PXXDAXXMK (SEQ. ID NO:27) Part of Motif C: XGKVI (SEQ. ID NO: 28) Part of Motif J: DLPHV (SEQ. ID NO: 29) Part of Motif K: HVGGDMF (SEQ. ID NO: 30) Part of Motif L: GKERT (SEQ. ID NO: 31) using the one-letter amino acid code, and wherein “X” represents any amino acid.

The invention thus also includes variants of the FIG. 9 (SEQ ID NO: 2) protein having the required degree of identity with the FIG. 9 protein (at least 70%) and including for example the LVDVGGGTG motif (SEQ ID NO: 32) and the AGKERTEAE (SEQ ID NO: 33) motif.

The PSOMT1 proteins of the invention can be used for the production of methylated catechols or methylated tetrahydrobenzylisoquinolines. An example of such a method comprises the steps of:

-   -   i) contacting in vitro a PSOMT2 protein having (R,S)-reticuline         7-O-methyltransferase activity with a substrate chosen from         guaiacol, isovanillic acid, (R)-reticuline, (S)-reticuline,         (R,S)-orientaline, (R)-protosinomenine and (R,S)-isoorientaline         at a pH between 7.5 to 9,     -   ii) recovering the methylated catechols or methylated         tetrahydrobenzylisoquinolines thus produced.

The PSOMT1 proteins used in this in vitro method are generally used in purified, dimeric form.

In addition to the proteins described above, the invention also relates to nucleic acid molecules encoding the PSOMT1 proteins, for example cDNA, single and double stranded DNA and RNA, genomic DNA, synthetic DNA, or to their complementary sequences.

Examples of particularly preferred nucleic acid molecules are molecules comprising or consisting of:

-   -   i) the nucleic acid sequence illustrated in FIG. 8 (SEQ ID NO:         1), or     -   ii) a fragment of the nucleic acid sequence illustrated in FIG.         8 (SEQ ID NO: 1), said fragment having a length of at least 60         nucleotides, or     -   iii) a variant of the sequence illustrated in FIG. 8 (SEQ ID NO:         1), said variant having at least 70% identity with the sequence         of FIG. 8 (SEQ ID NO: 1) over a length of at least 900 bases, or     -   iv) a sequence complementary to sequences (i), (ii) or (iii), or     -   v) any one of sequences (i), (ii) or (iii) in double-stranded         form, or     -   vi) the RNA equivalent of any of sequences (i), (ii),         (iii), (iv) or (v).

The nucleic acid molecules (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v) and (vi) are also referred to herein collectively as “(R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase gene or derivatives thereof”.

The sequence of FIG. 8 (SEQ ID NO: 1) indicates the coding region of the full length cDNA of P. somniferum (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase. The invention encompasses any nucleic acid molecule which consists of this coding sequence, or which additionally includes further nucleotides at either the 5′ and/or 3′ extremities, for example, the full sequence shown in FIG. 8 (SEQ ID NO: 1), which includes 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions. The additional nucleotides may be other untranslated regions, or endogenous or exogenous regulatory sequences, or fusions to other coding regions.

Also within the scope of the invention are molecules comprising or consisting of fragments of the nucleic acid sequence illustrated in FIG. 8 (SEQ ID NO: 1), said fragments having a length of at least 25 nucleotides, preferably 30 nucleotides, and most preferably at least 60 nucleotides In the context of the invention, a nucleic acid “fragment” signifies any segment of the full length sequence of FIG. 10 (SEQ ID NO: 15) which is shorter than the full length sequence. Preferred fragments of the invention have a length of 60 to 1430 nucleotides, and encode an enzymatically active (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase.

Other fragments include 5′- or 3′-terminal truncations, or an internal fragment, of the sequence of FIG. 8, for example a fragment of approximately 75 to 1400 nucleotides. Preferred fragments have a length of 80 to 1300 nucleotides, for example 90 to 1200 or 100 to 1000 nucleotides. Shorter fragments having a length of 18 or 30 to 150 nucleotides can be used as primers in nucleic acid amplification reactions, enabling the isolation of related O-methyltransferases of species other than P. somniferum, or of different lines within a given species of Papaver. When the nucleic acid fragment of the invention is relatively short, i.e. between approximately 18 to 50 nucleotides, it usually comprises a stretch (or tract) of at least 18 nucleotides which is unique to the (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase. Such unique tracts may for example encode protein fragments which do not occur in other plant O-methyltransferases as shown in Table II, or may be chosen from the untranslated regions shown in FIG. 8. These fragments, or their complementary sequences, are useful in amplification reactions.

Molecules comprising fragments of the FIG. 8 (SEQ ID NO: 1) sequence also include genomic DNA which may contain at least one intron, and which can thus be considered to be an assembly of fragments linked by one or more intronic sequences. Such a genomic molecule may further comprise the endogenous (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase regulatory sequences.

The nucleic acid molecules of the invention may also be a variant of the nucleotide sequence illustrated in FIG. 8 (SEQ ID NO: 1), wherein said variant has at least 70% identity with the sequence of FIG. 8 (SEQ ID NO: 1) over a length of at least 900 bases, and preferably at least 80%, or at least 90% or at least 95% identity with the sequence of FIG. 8 (SEQ ID NO: 1), over a length of at least 900 bases. Particularly preferred variants show 95 to 99.9% identity for example 96 to 99.5% identity. Most preferred variants differ from the sequence of FIG. 8 (SEQ ID NO: 1) by insertion, replacement and/or deletion of at least one nucleotide, for example replacement of one to two hundred nucleotides, or insertion of a total of 2 or more nucleotides, for example an insertion of 3 to 100 nucleotides, whilst conserving at least 70% identity with the FIG. 8 (SEQ ID NO: 1) sequence. An example of a sequence variant is a sequence that is degenerate with respect to the sequence illustrated in FIG. 8 (SEQ ID NO: 1).

Typically, nucleic acid variants of the invention have the capacity to hybridise to the sequence illustrated in FIG. 8 (SEQ ID NO: 1) in stringent conditions, particularly to the coding sequence illustrated in FIG. 8. Stringent conditions are for example those set out in Sambrook et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., USA, 1989 pages 387-389, paragraph 11.

Particularly preferred nucleic acid variants of the invention are variants of the (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase gene occurring within a given species of P. somniferum, such as allelic variants or gene family members. Allelic variants usually have up to 1% difference in nucleotide sequence with respect to the full length coding sequence, for example with respect to the coding sequence shown in FIG. 8, and usually share the same chromosomal location. Such allelic variants thus show at least 99% identity with the coding sequence shown in FIG. 8 (SEQ ID NO: 1), for example at least 99.3 or at least 99.7% identity, and comprise at least one nucleic acid substitution with respect to this sequence, for example 2 to 10 base changes. The changes are usually single base changes and may be silent or may give rise to amino acid differences.

According to the invention, members of a gene family usually differ by up to 5% with respect to the full length coding sequence, for example with respect to the coding sequence shown in FIG. 8, and need not share the same chromosomal location. Such family members thus show at least 95% identity with the coding sequence shown in FIG. 8 (SEQ ID NO: 1), for example at least 97% identity, and comprise at least one nucleic acid substitution with respect to this sequence, for example 2 to 50 base changes, more particularly 2 to 30 changes. Again, the changes are usually single base changes and may be silent or may give rise to amino acid differences.

Nucleic acid variants and fragments of the invention may encode an enzymatically active protein or not. Preferred variants encode proteins having (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase activity, as defined previously.

Further variants of the nucleic acid sequences of the invention include mutants obtained for example, by mutagenesis, either directed or random, producing new enzymes with modified specificities. For example, mutants capable of methylating a broader range of substrates, or capable of methylating substrates totally different from the natural substrates can be generated, for example mutants capable of methylating morphine to produce codeine. Variants generated in such directed evolution methods generally differ by up to 5% with respect to the full length coding sequence, for example with respect to the coding sequence shown in FIG. 8 (SEQ ID NO: 1), showing at least 95% identity with the coding sequence shown in FIG. 8, for example at least 97% identity, and comprise at least one nucleic acid substitution, insertion or deletion with respect to this sequence, for example 2 to 50 base changes, more particularly 2 to 15 changes. The changes usually give rise to amino acid differences.

A further major aspect the invention relates to a second methyl transferase enzyme involved in alkaloid biosynthesis in opium poppy, namely (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase. In the framework of the invention, it has been discovered that different allelic variants of the gene encoding this protein exist in P. somniferum. The invention thus relates to the different variants of this protein, and to the corresponding genes and derivatives thereof.

More particularly, the invention concerns the so-called PSOMT2 proteins illustrated in FIG. 3 (SEQ ID NO: 3), and FIG. 13 (SEQ ID NO: 21), and variants and derivatives thereof. These PSOMT2 proteins are allelic variants of the P. somniferum (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase.

According to a preferred embodiment, the invention thus concerns a protein having O-methyltransferase activity, particularly (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase activity, said protein comprising or consisting of:

-   -   i) the PSOMT2 amino acid sequence illustrated in FIG. 3 (SEQ ID         NO: 3) or,     -   ii) the PSOMT2a amino acid sequence illustrated in FIG. 13 (SEQ         ID NO: 21) or     -   iii) a fragment of the PSOMT2 or PSMOT2a amino acid sequences         illustrated in FIG. 3 (SEQ ID NO: 3), and FIG. 13 (SEQ ID NO:         21),said fragment having at least 100 amino acids, or     -   iv) a variant of the PSOMT2 or PSMOT2a amino acid sequence of         FIG. 3 (SEQ ID NO: 3), or FIG. 13 (SEQ ID NO: 21), said variant         having at least 70% identity, and preferably at least 80% or 90%         identity, most preferable at least 97% identity, for example at         least 99% identity, with the PSOMT2 amino acid sequence of FIG.         3 (SEQ ID NO: 3) or FIG. 13 (SEQ ID NO: 21), over a length of at         least 300 amino acids.

The fragments or variants of the PSOMT2 and PSOMT2a protein as defined above will be collectively referred to herein as the “PSOMT2 derivatives”.

Again, as with the PSOMT1 proteins, the PSOMT2 protein and derivatives are preferably in dimeric form, i.e. the protein is a dimer comprising two protein sub-units, each sub-unit being chosen from any one of proteins (i), (ii), (iii) or (iv) as defined above. Both homodimers and heterodimers of the PSOMT2 proteins and derivatives are within the scope of the invention. In the context of the invention, the designation “PSOMT2 proteins” includes dimeric forms of said proteins. The proteins may be purified from natural sources, or made by chemical or recombinant techniques.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the protein comprises or consists of a variant of the amino acid sequence illustrated in FIG. 14 (SEQ ID NO: 23). Such a variant has from 1 to 10 amino acid substitutions, deletions and/or insertions with respect to the amino acid sequence illustrated in FIG. 14 (SEQ ID NO: 23), and has not more than 99.8% identity with the full length sequence of FIG. 14. The said variant has O-methyltransferase activity, particularly (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase activity.

The invention thus encompasses allelic variants of the FIG. 14 (SEQ ID NO: 23) sequence, which preferably have between 97% and 99.7% identity with the full length sequence of FIG. 14, for example between 98.5% and 99.5% identity. Such variants include those having from 1 to 5 amino acid substitutions with respect to the FIG. 14 sequence, particularly 2 to four amino acid substitutions.

It has been established by the inventors that the naturally occurring variants of the P. somniferum (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase are particularly susceptible to have variation at any one of amino acid positions 93, 150, 233, 245 and 274, wherein the amino acid positions referred to are those illustrated in FIGS. 14 (SEQ ID NO: 23) and 16. Consequently, the invention includes PSOMT2 proteins wherein at least one amino acid substitution, deletions or insertion occurs at a position chosen from positions 93, 150, 233, 245 and 274, as illustrated in FIG. 14. Preferably, the variation is a single amino acid substitution, occurring at one or more of positions 93, 150, 233, 245 and 274, for example at positions 93, 235 and 245.

Typically, the PSMOT2 proteins of the invention comprise or consist of the sequence illustrated in FIG. 16, (SEQ ID NO: 25) wherein “X” at positions 93, 150, 233, 245 and 274 represents the occurrence of any amino acid, but are preferably chosen from the following amino acids:

X₉₃: Pro, Val X₁₅₀: Val, Glu X₂₃₃: Ser, Pro X₂₄₅: Ala, Gly; X₂₇₄: Gly, Val,

Advantageously, X₉₃ is not Pro when X₁₅₀, X₂₃₃, X₂₄₅, X₂₇₄ together represent the following amino acids: Xaa₁₅₀ is Glu, Xaa₂₃₃ is Ser, Xaa₂₄₅ is Ala and Xaa₂₇₄ is Gly.

According to one embodiment of this mode of the invention, the methyl transferase enzyme thus comprises the full length PSOMT2 (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase protein whose amino acid sequence is shown in FIG. 3 (PSOMT2) (SEQ ID NO: 3 and SEQ ID NO: 19), or the full length PSOMT2a (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase protein whose amino acid sequence is shown in FIG. 13 (PSOMT2) (SEQ ID NO: 21). These proteins have 346 amino acids, and a molecular weight of approximately 43 kDa (Genebank accession number AY268894). According to this embodiment of the invention, the full length PSOMT2 enzymes may be obtained by isolation and purification to homogeneity from cell suspension culture, or from plant parts of P. somniferum, at any stage of development, and from latex of mature or immature plants. Alternatively, the enzyme may be produced by recombinant means in suitable host cells such as plant cells or insect cells. The protein may consist exclusively of those amino acids shown in FIG. 3 or 13, or may have supplementary amino acids at the N- or C-terminus. For example, tags facilitating purification may be added. The protein may also be fused at the N- or C-terminus to a heterologous protein. A particularly preferred embodiment of the invention is a protein comprising a homodimer of the PSOMT2 sequence of FIG. 3 or 13, having an Mr of approximately 85 kDa.

The PSOMT2 proteins and derivatives as defined above, and dimers thereof, generally have O-methyltransferase activity, particularly (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase activity. In the context of the invention, “(R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase activity” signifies the capacity of a protein to carry out methylation of (R,S)-norcoclaurine, (S)-norcoclaurine, and/or (R)-norcoclaurine at the 6-hydroxyl group, forming (R,S)-coclaurine, forming (S)-coclaurine, and (R)-coclaurine, respectively. The proteins of the invention catalyse this reaction both in vivo and in vitro. The 6-O-methylation by PSOMT2 and derivatives preferably occurs over a wide range of pH (pH 6.0 to 9.0), and a temperature optimum of 37 to 41° C. The (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase activity in vitro is measured using the experimental protocols described in the Examples below on purified enzyme as obtained from a eukaryotic cell, for example further to heterologous expression in a eukaryotic host, or any other suitable technique.

The PSOMT2 proteins and derivatives of the invention also have the in vitro capacity to methylate substrates other than (R,S)-norcoclaurine, (S)-norcoclaurine, and/or (R)-norcoclaurine. In particular, the PSOMT2 proteins have the capacity to methylate in vitro the following substrates, in addition to (R)-reticuline, (S)-reticuline, at the 6-hydroxy position: (R)-norprotosinomenine, (S)-norprotosinomenine and (R,S)-isoorientaline. Optimal pH for these 6-O-methylations is at pH 7.5, with a temperature optima again at 37 to 41° C.

In accordance with another embodiment of the PSOMT2 aspect of the invention, the protein or peptide may be comprise or consist a portion or fragment of the full length protein illustrated in FIG. 16. Such a fragment generally has a length of 25 to 345 amino acids, for example 100 to 340 amino acids, or 150 to 300 amino acids, and spans that part of the protein which encompasses at least one of positions 93, 150, 233, 245 and 274, wherein X has the previously ascribed meaning.

By PSOMT2 protein “fragment” is meant any segment of the full length sequence of FIG. 16 which is shorter than the full length sequence. The fragment may be a C- or N-terminal fragment having for example approximately 25 or 60 or 175 or 250 or amino acids, or may be an internal fragment having 30 to approximately 250 amino acids. Preferably the PSOMT2 protein fragments have a length of 200 to 350 amino acids, for example 250 to 320 amino acids, or 275 to 300 amino acids. Particularly preferred are fragments having a length of between 255 and 350 amino acids, such as the FIG. 3 or FIG. 13 sequence having undergone truncation at the C- or N-terminal.

Examples of PSOMT2 protein fragments and peptides thus include proteins comprising or consisting of amino acids 1 to 150 of the FIG. 3 or FIG. 13 sequence, or amino acids 139 to 250, or 230 to 346 of the FIG. 3 or FIG. 13 sequence.

The PSOMT2 protein fragments of the invention may or may not have (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase activity. Normally, fragments comprising at least 250, or at least 300 consecutive amino acids of the protein shown in FIG. 9 (SEQ ID NO: 2) are enzymatically active, i.e. have O-methyltransferase activity, particularly (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase activity.

A particularly preferred class of PSOMT2 peptides according to the invention are peptides which comprise or consist of a stretch (or “tract”) of at least 8, preferably at least 10, and most preferably at least 25 amino acids unique to the (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase (PSOMT2) illustrated in FIG. 3 (SEQ ID NO: 3) or 13 (SEQ ID NO: 21). By “unique to PSOMT2” is meant a tract of amino acids which is not present in other plant O-methyltransferases as listed in Table II below. These PSOMT2-specific peptides typically have a length of 10 to 100 amino acids, for example 12 to 70 amino acids, or 18 to 50 amino acids. Such peptides can be used for generation of PSOMT2-specific antibodies for immunodetection and immunopurification techniques.

Other PSOMT2 variants of the invention include proteins which again have at least 95 or 97% identity with the amino acid sequence of FIG. 3 (SEQ ID NO: 3) or FIG. 13 (SEQ ID NO: 21) over a length of at least 300 amino acids, and which contain at least part of one or more of the conserved amino acid motifs shown as shaded boxes (Motifs A, J, K, B, C and L) in FIG. 3 (PSOMT2 sequence). In accordance with this variant of the invention, the partial motifs which are conserved are as follows:

Part of Motif A: LVDVGGG (SEQ. ID NO: 26) Part of Motif B: PXXDAXXMK (SEQ. ID NO:27) Part of Motif C: XGKVI (SEQ. ID NO: 28) Part of Motif J: DLPHV (SEQ. ID NO: 29) Part of Motif K: HVGGDMF (SEQ. ID NO: 30) Part of Motif L: GKERT (SEQ. ID NO: 31) using the one-letter amino acid code, and wherein “X” represents any amino acid.

The PSOMT2 proteins of the invention can be used for the production of methylated tetrahydrobenzylisoquinolines. An example of such a method comprises the steps of:

-   -   i) contacting in vitro a protein having norcoclaurine         6-O-methyltransferase activity, for example a PSOMT2 protein or         derivative as defined above, with a substrate chosen from         (R,S)-norcoclaurine, (R,S)-isoorientaline,         (R)-norprotosinomenine and (S)-norprotosinomenine at pH 6.0 to         9.0,     -   ii) recovering the methylated tetrahydrobenzylisoquinolines thus         produced.

The PSOMT2 proteins used in this in vitro method are generally used in purified, dimeric form.

In addition to the PSOMT2 proteins described above, the invention also relates to nucleic acid molecules encoding the PSOMT2 proteins, for example cDNA, single and double stranded DNA and RNA, genomic DNA, synthetic DNA, or to their complementary sequences.

Examples of particularly preferred nucleic acid molecules are molecules comprising or consisting of:

-   -   i) the nucleic acid sequence illustrated in FIG. 10 (SEQ ID NO:         18), or     -   ii) the nucleic acid sequence illustrated in FIG. 11 (SEQ ID NO:         20), or     -   iii) a fragment of the nucleic acid sequence illustrated in FIG.         10 or 11, said fragment having a length of at least 60         nucleotides, or     -   iv) a variant of the sequence illustrated in FIG. 10 or 11, said         variant having at least 70% identity, for example at least 80%         or 90% identity, and preferably at least 99 to 99.9% identity,         with the sequence of FIG. 10 or 11 over a length of at least 900         bases, or     -   v) a sequence complementary to sequences (i), (ii), (iii), or         (iv),     -   vi) any one of sequences (i), (ii), (iii), (iv) or (v) in         double-stranded form, or     -   vii) the RNA equivalent of any of sequences (i), (ii), (iii),         (iv), (v) or (vi).

The nucleic acid molecules (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi) and (vi) are also referred to herein collectively as the “norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase gene or derivatives thereof”.

Preferred nucleic acid molecule of the invention are variants of the sequence illustrated in FIG. 12 (SEQ ID NO: 22). Such variants comprise or consist of a sequence having from 1 to 10 nucleotide insertions, substitutions or deletions with respect to the nucleic acid sequence illustrated in FIG. 12, and have not more than 99.9% identity, preferably not more than 99.5% identity with the full length sequence of FIG. 12. These variants include the different norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase gene alleles, and preferably differ from the FIG. 12 sequence by 1 to 5 single nucleotide substitutions, which may or may not give rise to amino acid changes.

Such variants include the nucleic acid molecule comprising or consisting of the PSOMT2 coding sequence illustrated in FIG. 10, or the PSOMT2a coding sequence illustrated in FIG. 11. The invention encompasses any nucleic acid molecule which consists of either one of the coding sequences illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11, or which additionally includes further nucleotides at either the 5′ and/or 3′ extremities, for example, the full sequence shown in FIG. 10 (SEQ ID NO: 18), which includes 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions. The additional nucleotides may be other untranslated regions, or endogenous or exogenous regulatory sequences, or fusions to other coding regions.

Also within the scope of the invention are molecules comprising or consisting of fragments of the nucleic acid sequence illustrated in FIG. 10 or 11. Such fragments having a length of at least 25 nucleotides, preferably 30 nucleotides, and most preferably at least 60 nucleotides In the context of the invention, a PSOMT2 nucleic acid “fragment” signifies any segment of the full length sequence of FIG. 10 or 11 which is shorter than the full length sequence. Preferred fragments of the invention have a length of 60 to 1040 nucleotides, and encode an enzymatically active norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase.

Particularly preferred PSOMT2 nucleic acid fragments comprise or consist of a stretch (or tract) of the sequence illustrated in FIG. 10 (SEQ ID NO: 18) or FIG. 11 (SEQ ID NO: 20), said fragment having from 60 to 1000 nucleotides, and spans that part of the molecule which encodes at least one of amino acids 93, 150, 233, 245 and 274. Typical fragment lengths are from 100 to 500 bases.

Other PSOMT2 fragments include 5′- or 3′-terminal truncations, or an internal fragment, of the sequence of FIG. 10 or 11, for example a fragment of approximately 75 to 1400 nucleotides. Preferred fragments have a length of 80 to 1300 nucleotides, for example 90 to 1200 or 100 to 1000 nucleotides. Shorter fragments having a length of 15 or 18 to 150 nucleotides can be used as primers in nucleic acid amplification reactions, enabling the isolation of related O-methyltransferases of species other than P. somniferum, or of different lines within a given species of Papaver. Examples of such sequences are molecules having a length of 15 to 300 nucleotides, for example 20 to 50 nucleotides; and comprising at least 15 consecutive nucleotides of the 5′ sequence from nucleotide 1 to nucleotide 31 of the sequence illustrated in FIG. 10 (SEQ ID NO: 18). A further example is a molecule having a length of 15 to 300 nucleotides, for example 20 to 50 nucleotides, and comprising at least 15 consecutive nucleotides of the 3′ extremity of the sequence illustrated in FIG. 10 (SEQ ID NO: 18), extending from nucleotide 1210 to nucleotide 1320.

When the nucleic acid fragment of the invention is relatively short, i.e. between approximately 18 to 50 nucleotides, it usually comprises a stretch (or tract) of at least 18 nucleotides which is unique to the PSOMT2 gene. Such unique tracts may for example encode protein fragments which do not occur in other plant O-methyltransferases as shown in Table II, or may be chosen from the untranslated regions shown in FIG. 10. These fragments, or their complementary sequences, are useful in amplification reactions.

Molecules comprising fragments of the FIG. 10 or FIG. 11 sequence also include genomic DNA which may contain at least one intron, and which can thus be considered to be an assembly of fragments linked by one or more intronic sequences. Such a genomic molecule may further comprise the endogenous norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase regulatory sequences.

Typically, nucleic acid variants of the invention have the capacity to hybridise to the sequence illustrated in FIG. 10 or 11 in stringent conditions, particularly to the coding sequence illustrated in FIG. 10 or 11. Stringent conditions are for example those set out in Sambrook et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., USA, 1989 pages 387-389, paragraph 11.

Nucleic acid variants and fragments of the invention may encode an enzymatically active protein or not. Preferred variants encode proteins having O-methyltransferase activity, particularly norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase activity, as defined previously.

Further variants of the PSOMT2 nucleic acid sequences of the invention include mutants obtained for example, by mutagenesis, either directed or random, producing new enzymes with modified specificities. For example, mutants capable of methylating a broader range of substrates, or capable of methylating substrates totally different from the natural substrates can be generated, for example mutants capable of methylating morphine to produce codeine. Variants generated in such directed evolution methods generally differ by up to 5%, for example by up to 2 or 3% with respect to the full length coding sequence, for example with respect to the coding sequence shown in FIG. 10 or 11, showing at least 95% identity with the coding sequence shown in FIG. 10 or 11, for example at least 97% identity, and comprise at least one nucleic acid substitution, insertion or deletion with respect to this sequence, for example 2 to 50 base changes, more particularly 2 to 15 changes. The changes usually give rise to amino acid differences.

In a more general context, the invention also encompasses nucleic acid molecules that are complementary to any of the foregoing molecules, variants and fragments, both PSOMT1 and PSOMT2 derivatives. In the context of the invention, “complementary” means that Watson-Crick base-pairs can form between a majority of bases in the complementary sequence and the reference sequence. Preferably, the complementarity is 100%, but one or two mismatches in a stretch of twenty or thirty bases can be tolerated. Additionally, complementary stretches may be separated by non-complementary stretches. Examples of nucleic acids of the invention which comprise sequences complementary to the PSOMT1 and PSOMT2 derivatives include primers, ribozymes, deoxyribozymes, antisense sequences, and interfering RNA.

The nucleic acid molecules of the invention may contain at least one nucleotide analogue in replacement of, or in addition to, a naturally occurring nucleotide. Ribonucleotide and deoxyribonucleotide derivatives or modifications are well known in the art, and are described, for example, in Principles of Nucleic Acid Structure (Ed, Wolfram Sanger, Springer-Verlag, New York, 1984), particularly pages 159-200), and in the CRC Handbook of Biochemistry (Second edition, Ed, H. Sober, 1970). A large number of modified bases are found in nature, and a wide range of modified bases have been synthetically produced. For example, amino groups and ring nitrogens may be alkylated, such as alkylation of ring nitrogen atoms or carbon atoms such as N1 and N7 of guanine and C5 of cytosine; substitution of keto by thioketo groups; saturation of carbon═carbon double bonds. Bases may be substituted with various groups, such as halogen, hydroxy, amine, alkyl, azido, nitro, phenyl and the like. Examples of suitable nucleotide analogues are listed in Table I below. In accordance with this embodiment of the invention, synthetic genes comprising one or more nucleotide analogues, for example methylated bases, are made, for example by chemical synthesis, and can be introduced into cells for a transient expression process in vivo.

TABLE 1 Nucleotide Analogs Abbreviation Description ac4c 4-acetylcytidine chm5u 5-(carboxyhydroxylmethyl)uridine cm 2′-O-methylcytidine cmnm5s2u 5-carboxymethylaminomethyl-2-thiouridine d dihydrouridine fm 2′-O-methylpseudouridine galq β,D-galactosylqueosine gm 2′-O-methylguanosine I inosine i6a N6-isopentenyladenosine m1a 1-methyladenosine m1f 1-methylpseudouridine m1g 1-methy[guanosine ml1 1-methylinosine m22g 2,2-dimethylguanosine m2a 2-methyladenosine m2g 2-methylguanosine m3c 3-methylcytidine m5c 5-methylcytidine m6a N6-methyladenosine m7g 7-methylguanosine mam5u 5-methylaminomethyluridine mam5s2u 5-methoxyaminomethyl-2-thiouridine manq β,D-mannosylmethyluridine mcm5s2u 5-methoxycarbonylmethyluridine mo5u 5-methoxyuridine ms2i6a 2-methylthio-N6-isopentenyladenosine ms2t6a N-((9-β-D-ribofuranosyl-2-methylthiopurine-6- yl)carbamoyl)threonine mt6a N-((9-β-D-ribofuranosylpurine-6-yl)N-methyl- carbamoyl)threonine mv uridine-5-oxyacetic acid methylester o5u uridine-5-oxyacetic acid (v) osyw wybutoxosine p pseudouridine q queosine s2c 2-thiocytidine s2t 5-methyl-2-thiouridine s2u 2-thiouridine s4u 4-thiouridine t 5-methyluridine t6a N-((9-β-D-ribofuranosylpurine-6-yl)carbamoyl)threoninetm 2′-O-methyl-5-methyluridine um 2′-O-methyluridine yw wybutosine x 3-(3-amino-3-carboxypropyl)uridine, (acp3)u araU β,D-arabinosyl araT β,D-arabinosyl

The nucleic acid molecules of the invention can be used to transform or transfect eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. To this end, the sequences are usually operably linked to transcription regulatory sequences such as promoters, transcription terminators, enhancers etc. The operable link between the (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase-derived coding sequence or the norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase coding sequence, and the regulatory sequence(s) may be direct or indirect, i.e. with or without intervening sequences. They may also contain internal ribosome entry sites (IRES). The regulatory sequences may be endogenous to the coding sequence, i.e. they are the regulatory sequences naturally associated with the (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase gene or the norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase gene in the genome of the plant. Alternatively, the regulatory sequences may be heterologous to the (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase sequence or the norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase sequence. In this latter case the resulting construct forms a chimeric gene, comprising a coding sequence derived from the methyltransferase gene, operably linked to at least one heterologous transcription regulatory sequence. In the context of the invention, the term “coding sequence” signifies a DNA sequence that encodes a functional RNA molecule. The RNA molecule may be untranslated, or may encode an enzymatically-active protein, or enzymatically-inactive protein.

The invention also relates to eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells transformed or transfected by the nucleic acid sequences derived from the (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase gene, and from the norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase gene. An example of a suitable prokaryotic cell is a bacterial cell. Examples of suitable eukaryotic cells are yeast cells, vertebrate cells such as mammalian cells, for example mouse, monkey, or human cells, or invertebrate cells such as insect cells. Plant cells are particularly preferred. In the context of the present invention, the term “plant” is to be understood as including mosses and liverworts. The plant cells can be any type of plant cells, including monocotyledonous or dicotyledonous plant cells. The cells may be differentiated cells or callus for example suspension cultures. Cells of the genus Papaver are particularly preferred.

According to the invention, cells are transfected or transformed using techniques conventional in the art, in conditions allowing expression of the (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase gene or derivatives, or norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase or derivatives. A number of transformation techniques have been reported for Papaver. For example, microprojectile bombardment of cell suspension cultures may be used. Transformation may also be effected using Agrobacterium tumefaciens, or Agrobacterium rhizogenes, using either cell suspension cultures or tissue explants. A number of further techniques are available and are known to the skilled man.

When transforming cells with the methyltransferase genes or derivatives of the invention, the choice of cell is made depending upon the objective to be achieved.

One objective is to produce recombinant (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase enzyme, or derivatives thereof. A preferred method for producing proteins having this activity comprises:

-   -   i) transforming or transfecting a cell with a (R,S)-reticuline         7-O-methyltransferase gene or derivatives as defined above, in         conditions permitting the expression of the protein having         (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase activity,     -   ii) propagating the said cells, and     -   iii) recovering the thus-produced protein having         (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase activity.

A further objective is to produce recombinant norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase enzyme, or derivatives thereof. A preferred method comprises the steps of:

-   -   i) transforming or transfecting cells with a (R,S)-norcoclaurine         6-O-methyltransferase gene or derivatives thereof, as defined         above, in conditions permitting the expression of the protein         having norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase activity,     -   ii) propagating the said cells, and     -   iii) recovering the thus-produced protein having norcoclaurine         6-O-methyltransferase activity.

For the purpose of producing recombinant enzyme, any of the above listed cell-types can be used. Plant cells such as cells of a Papaver species, or insect cells, as demonstrated in the examples below, are particularly suitable. Bacterial cells, such as E. coli, can also be used.

The enzymes of the invention, and their derivatives and variants, can also be used in semi-synthetic drug preparation, where necessary in association with other enzymes involved in alkaloid biosynthesis, for example in the preparation of the analgesics codeine and morphine, and the antitussive noscapine, the vasodilator papaverine and the antimicrobial benzo[c]phenanthridine sanguinarine.

The (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase genes and derivatives of the invention can also be used for producing 7-O-methylreticuline. Such a method comprises the steps of:

-   -   i) introducing a nucleic acid molecule encoding a protein of the         invention having (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase activity         into a plant cell which is capable of expressing (R)-reticuline         or (S)-reticuline,     -   ii) propagating said plant cell in conditions wherein the         (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase and the (R)-reticuline or         (S)-reticuline are expressed, thereby producing a multiplicity         of cells,     -   iii) recovering 7-O-methylreticuline from said multiplicity of         cells.

Likewise, the (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase genes and derivatives of the invention can also be used for producing (R) or (S)-coclaurine. Such a method comprises the steps of:

-   -   i) introducing an exogenous nucleic acid molecule encoding a         protein having norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase activity into         a plant cell which is capable of expressing (S)-norcoclaurine,     -   ii) propagating said plant cell in conditions wherein the         norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase activity and the         (S)-norcoclaurine are expressed, thereby producing a         multiplicity of cells,     -   iii) recovering (S)-coclaurine from said multiplicity of cells.

In such methods the multiplicity of cells is preferably a cell culture of differentiated or undifferentiated cells.

Various aspects of the invention are illustrated in the Figures:

FIG. 1. Schematic biosynthetic pathway leading from (S)-norcoclaurine to (S)-scoulerine, (R)-reticuline and laudanine in P. somniferum. The pathway from (S)-norcoclaurine to (S)-reticuline is central to the isoquinoline alkaloids accumulated in opium poppy. (S)-Reticuline is a branch point intermediate that is subsequently oxidized at C-1-N to lead into the morphinan pathway, or at N—CH₃ to proceed on to (S)-scoulerine—derived alkaloids such as the benzo[c]phenanthridines. In addition, reticuline can be 7-O-methylated to laudanine.

FIG. 2. Two-dimensional gel electrophoretic pattern of the cytosolic fraction proteins of latex collected from P. somniferum capsules. Fifty micrograms protein were loaded per gel and were visualized by silver staining. The arrow points to the position of the O-methyltransferase described in this work. Protein spots from Coomassie Brilliant Blue R-250-stained gels were excised, the proteins digested in situ with endoproteinase Lys-C and the peptides resolved and sequenced according to (24).

FIG. 3 Amino acid sequence comparison of PSOMT1 (SEQ ID NO:2) and PSOMT2 (SEQ ID NO:3) from P. somniferum. The shaded motifs are conserved regions motif A, J, K, B, C and L indicative of plant methyltransferases according to Joshi and Chiang (2). These sequence signatures were based upon plant methyltransferase amino acid sequence comparisons and were not functionally defined. They are mainly used to indicate whether unidentified proteins may be O-methyltransferases.

FIG. 4. Phylogenetic tree of plant methyltransferases of defined and of unknown function. Forty-four amino acid sequences of proteins of plant origin were compared to generate a tree that indicates the phylogenetic relationship between PSOMT1, PSOMT2 and other putative and defined O-methyltransferases. PSOMT1 grouped most closely to two putative methyltransferases from pine, while PSOMT2 was most similar to (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase of (S)-reticuline biosynthesis from C. japonica (5). Two additional (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferases from T. tuberosum are clearly more related to caffeic acid O-methyltransferases from a variety of plant species than to either PSOMT1 or PSOMT2. The abbreviations and accession numbers of the amino acid sequences referred to in FIG. 4 are shown in Table II:

TABLE II Database Abbreviation Plant Enzyme accession CbrIEMT Clarkia breweri (Iso)eugenol O-methyltransferase AAC01533 CbrCafOMT Clarkia breweri caffeic acid O-methyltransferase AAB71141 TtuCatOMT4 Thalictrum tuberosum caffeic acid O-methyltransferase AAD29845 Ttu6OMT1 Thalictrum tuberosum caffeic acid O-methyltransferase AAD29841 Ttu6OMT2 Thalictrum tuberosum caffeic acid O-methyltransferase AAD29842 TtuOMT3 Thalictrum tuberosum caffeic acid/catechol O-methyltransferase AAD29843 TtuCafOMT5 Thalictrum tuberosum caffeic acid O-methyltransferase AAD29845 PsoCatOMT Papaver somniferum catechol O-methyltransferas AY268895 GecIli2OMT Glycyrrhiza echinata Isoliquiritigenin 2{grave over ( )}OMT BAA13683 MsatIliOMT Medicago sativa isoliquiritigenin 2′-O-methyltransferase AAB48059 PtaCafOMT Pinus taeda caffeic acid O-methyltransferase AAC49708 PraCafOMT Pinus radiata caffeic acid O-methyltransferase AAD24001 Pso7OMT Papaver somniferum reticuline 7-O methyltransferase AY268893 Pso6OMT Papaver somniferum norcoclaurine 6-O methyltransferase AY268894 Cj6OMT Coptis japonica norcoclaurine 6-O methyltransferase BAB08004 Cj4{grave over ( )}OMT Coptis japonica 3{grave over ( )}hydroxy-N-methylcoclaurine 4{grave over ( )}O- BAB08005 methyltransferase TaOMT Triticum aestivum o-methyltransferase AAD10485 ZmOMT Zea mays O-methyltransferase P47917 HvF7OMT Hordeum vulgare S52015 RhybOOMT Rosa hybrida orcinol O-methyltransferase AAM23004 RhybOOMT2 Rosa hybrida orcinol O-methyltransferase AAM23005 PduOMT Prunus dulcis O-methyltransferase CAA11131 ParOMT Prunus armeniaca O-methyltransferase AAB71213 PpyOMT Pyrus pyrifolia O-methyltransferase BAA86059 ObaCVOMT Ocimun basilicum chavicol O-methyltransferase1 AF435007 ObaEOMT Ocimun basilicum eugenol O-methyltransferase1 AF435008 Msat7-IOMT Medicago sativa isoflavone-7-O-methyltransferase T09254 MsatOMT Medicago sativa o-methyltransferase iomt2003 T09299 PsatHMOMT Pisum sativum 6a-hydroxymaackiain methyltransferase T06786 AthCatOMT Arabidopsis thaliana catechol O-methyltransferas1 T04963 CrocafOMT Catharanthus roseus caffeic acid O-methyltransferase AAK20170 ObaCafOMT Ocimun basilicum caffeic acid O-methyltransferase1 AAD38189 ZelCafOMT Zinnia elegans caffeic acid O-methyltransferase AAA86718 NtaCafOMT Nicotiana tabacum catechol O-methyltransferase S36403 CanOMT Capsicum annuum O-diphenol-O-methyltransferase T12259 PtoCafOMT Populus tomentosa caffeic acid 3-O methyltransferase AAF63200 PtrCaf3OMT Populus tremuloides caffeic acid 3-O methyltransferase Q00763 PbaCafOMT Populus balsamifera caffeic acid O-methyltransferase CAA01820 PdulCafOMT Prunus dulcis caffeic acid O-methyltransferase CAA58218 MsatCafOMT Medicago sativa caffeic acid O-methyltransferase AAB46623 AthCafOMT Arabidopsis thaliana caffeic acid O-methyltransferase1 AAB96879 CamCafOMT Chrysosplenium americanum caffeic acid O-methyltransferase1 AAA86982 EglCafOMT Eucalyptus globulus caffeic acid O-methyltransferase1 AAD50440 EguOMT Eucalyptus gunnii caffeic acid O-methyltransferase1 CAA52814

FIG. 5. RNA gel blot analysis of PSOMT1 and PSOMT2. Top panel, PSOMT1 is expressed predominantly in bud and stem, and to a much lesser degree, in leaf of P. somniferum. Middle panel, PSOMT2 is expressed in bud, stem, leaf and root, and to a lesser degree in capsule. These results were obtained after blotting a P. somniferum RNA gel and hybridizing to ³²P-labeled full-length PSOMT1 or PSOMT2. Radioactivity was visualized by phosphorimagery. The bottom panel is a photograph of ethidium bromide-visualized RNA in the gel prior to blotting. This served as an RNA loading control.

FIG. 6. Chemical structures of the substrates methylated by either PSOMT1 or PSOMT2.

FIG. 7. Mass spectrometric fragmentation of orientaline transformed by PSOMT1. Each substrate and the corresponding enzymic reaction products were analyzed by HPLC-MS. Orientaline is shown as an example here due to the complex methylation patterns that resulted after incubation with PSOMT1 in the presence of AdoMet. Three products can be identified, resulting from monomethylation at the isoquinoline moiety, monomethylation at the benzyl moiety and double methylation. The main product is monomethylated at the free isoquinoline hydroxyl at C-7.

FIG. 8. Nucleotide sequence of cDNA encoding (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase from P. somniferum (PSOMT1; (SEQ ID NO:1). The cDNA encoding PSOMT1 contains 1437 bp including a 5′ non-coding region of 40 bp, a 3′ non-coding region of 329 bp and a complete open reading frame of 1068 bp encoding 355 amino acids. Location of the first and last nucleotide of the coding sequence indicated in bold type.

FIG. 9: Amino acid sequence of (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase from P. somniferum (PSOMT1; SEQ ID NO:2).

FIG. 10: Nucleotide sequence of cDNA encoding (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase from P. somniferum (PSOMT2; SEQ ID NO:18). The cDNA encoding PSOMT2 contains 1346 bp including a 5′ non-coding region of 59 bp, a 3′ non-coding region of 246 bp and a complete open reading frame of 1041 bp encoding 346 amino acids. Location of the first and last nucleotide of the coding sequence indicated in bold type, “n” represents any nucleotide A, C, T or G, preferably T.

FIG. 11: Nucleotide sequence of cDNA encoding (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase from P. somniferum (variant PSOMT2a; SEQ OD MP:20), encompassing the reading frame only. This sequence was generated by PCR with primers at the start and stop codons. Nucleotides in bold type and singly underlined are those that differ from the PSOMT2 sequence as illustrated in FIG. 10, and which give rise to amino acid changes. The nucleotide in bold type and doubly underlined is the nucleotide which differs from the PSOMT2 sequence as illustrated in FIG. 10 and which does not lead to an amino acid change.

FIG. 12: Nucleotide sequence of cDNA encoding putative (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase from P. somniferum (according to Facchini et al., GenBank accession AY217335; SEQ ID NO:22): the coding sequence is from nucleotides 28 to 1068, as numbered in FIG. 12.

FIG. 13: Amino acid sequence of (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase from P. somniferum (variant PSOMT2a; SEQ ID NO:21). In bold, underlined, are variable amino acids.

FIG. 14: Amino acid sequence of putative (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase from P. somniferum (according to Facchini et al., GenBank accession AY217335; SEQ ID NO:23).

FIG. 15: Alignment of amino acid sequences of variants of the (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase from P. somniferum: Abbreviations: “AO” signifies the PSOMT2 sequence of the invention, as illustrated in FIG. 3 (SEQ ID NO:3); “SH” signifies the PSOMT2a variant of the invention, as illustrated in FIG. 13 (SEQ ID NO:21), and “PF” signifies the putative (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase according to Facchini et al (GenBank AY217335; SEQ ID NO:23).

FIG. 16: Amino acid sequence of (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase from P. somniferum (SEQ ID NO:25), wherein X represents positions at which amino acid variation occurs, and may be any amino acid.

EXAMPLES

The abbreviations used in the following Examples are: AdoMet, S-adenosyl-L-methionine; COMT, catechol O-methyltransferase; RT-PCR, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction; HPLC, high performance liquid chromatography; RACE, rapid amplification of DNA ends; MS, mass spectrometry; bp, base pairs; OMT, O-methyltransferase; PSOMT, Papaver somniferum O-methyltransferase

A. Experimental Procedures

Plant Material—P. somniferum seedlings were routinely grown aseptically on Gamborg B5 medium (15) containing 0.8% agar in a growth chamber at 22° C., 60% relative humidity under cycles of 16 h light/8 h dark with a light intensity of 85 μmol sec⁻¹ m⁻² per μA. Differentiated P. somniferum plants were grown either outdoors in Saxony-Anhalt or in a greenhouse at 24° C., 18 h light and 50% humidity.

Generation of Partial cDNAs from P. somniferum-Partial cDNAs encoding O-methyltransferases from P. somniferum were produced by PCR using cDNA generated by reverse transcription of mRNA isolated from floral stem. DNA amplification using either Taq or Pfu polymerase was performed under the following conditions: 3 min at 94° C., 35 cycles of 94° C., 30 s; 50° C., 30 s; 72° C., 1 min. At the end of 35 cycles, the reaction mixtures were incubated for an additional 7 min at 72° C. prior to cooling to 4° C. The amplified DNA was resolved by agarose gel electrophoresis, the bands of approximately correct size (400 bp) were isolated and subcloned into pGEM-T Easy (Promega) prior to nucleotide sequence determination. The specific sequences of the oligodeoxynucleotide primers used are given in the Results section.

Generation of Full-Length cDNAs-The sequence information requisite to the generation of a full-length cDNA was derived from the nucleotide sequence of the partial cDNA produced as described in the Results section. The complete nucleotide sequence was generated in two steps using one O-methyltransferase-specific PCR primer (PSOMT1: 5′-AGT CAT TTC CAT CTG GTC GCA ACA-3′ (SEQ. ID NO: 4) for 5′-RACE and 5′-ATG GAT ACT GCA GAA GAA AGG TTG-3′ (SEQ. ID NO: 5) for 3′-RACE; PSOMT2: 5′-ATA AGG GTA AGC CTC AAT TAC AGA TTG-3′ (SEQ. ID NO: 6) for 5′-RACE and 5′-GCT GCA GTG AAA GCC ATA ATC T-3′ (SEQ. ID NO: 7) for 3′-RACE) and one RACE-specific primer as specified by the manufacturer. The 5′- and 3′-RACE-PCR experiments were carried out using a SMART cDNA amplification kit (Clontech). RACE-PCR was performed using the following PCR cycle: 3 min at 94° C., 25 cycles of 94° C., 30 s; 68° C., 30 s; 72° C., 3 min. At the end of 25 cycles, the reaction mixtures were incubated for an additional 7 min at 72° C. prior to cooling to 4° C. The amplified DNA was resolved by agarose gel electrophoresis, the bands of the expected size (PSOMT1: 990 bp for 5′-RACE and 1177 bp for 3′-RACE; PSOMT2: 1124 bp for 5′-RACE and 671 bp for 3′-RACE) were isolated and subcloned into pGEM-T Easy prior to sequencing.

The full-length clone was generated in one piece using the primers PSOMT1: 5′-TAT CGG ATC CAT GGA TAC TGC AGA A-3′ (SEQ. ID NO: 8) and 5′-TTA GGC GGC CGC TTA TTC TGG AAA GGC-3′ (SEQ. ID NO: 9) or PSOMT2: 5′-TAT CGG ATC CAT GGA AAC AGT AAG C-3′ (SEQ. ID NO: 10) and 5′-TTA GGC GGC CGC TTA ATA AGG GTA AGC-3′ (SEQ. ID NO: 11) for PCR with P. somniferum floral stem cDNA as template. The final primers used for cDNA amplification contained recognition sites for the restriction endonucleases BamHI and NotI, appropriate for subcloning into pFastBac HTa (Life Technologies) for functional expression. DNA amplification was performed under the following conditions: 3 min at 94° C., 35 cycles of 94° C., 30 s; 60° C., 30 s; 72° C., 2 min. At the end of 35 cycles, the reaction mixtures were incubated for an additional 7 min at 72° C. prior to cooling to 4° C. The amplified DNA was resolved by agarose gel electrophoresis, the band of approximately correct size (PSOMT1: 1068 bp; PSOMT2: 1041 bp) was isolated and subcloned into pCR4-TOPO (Invitrogen) prior to nucleotide sequence determination.

Heterologous Expression and Enzyme Purification-The full-length cDNA generated by RT-PCR was ligated into pFastBac HTa that had been digested with restriction endonucleases BamHI and NotI. The recombinant plasmid was transposed into baculovirus DNA in the Escherichia coli strain DH10BAC (Life Technologies) and then transfected into Spodoptera frugiperda Sf9 cells according to the manufacturer's instructions. The insect cells were propagated and the recombinant virus was amplified according to (16, 17). INSECT-XPRESS serum-free medium (Bio Whittaker) was used in the enzyme expression experiments.

After infection of 20 ml suspension grown insect cells had proceded for 3-4 days at 28° C. and 130 rpm, the cells were removed by centrifugation under sterile conditions at 900×g for 5 min at 4° C. All subsequent steps were performed at 4° C. The pellet was discarded and to the medium was added 0.73 g NaCl, 2.5 ml glycerol and 50 μl □-mercaptoethanol. The pH was adjusted to 7.0 with 1.0 M NaOH. The His-tagged O-methyltransferase was then purified by affinity chromatography using a cobalt resin (Talon, Clontech) according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Enzyme assay and product identification: The O-methylation reactions catalysed by the two O-methyltransferases were assayed at least two times in duplicate according to Rüffer et al. (1983a; 1983b) as follows. Substrate (25 nmol), [methyl-3H]-AdoMet (20,000 dpm, 0.4 fmol), AdoMet (10 nmol) Tris/HC1 buffer pH 8.0 (10 μmol), ascorbate (5 μmol) and 5-10 μg of enzyme were incubated in a total volume of 150 μl at 35° C. for 5-60 min. The enzymic reaction was terminated by addition of 200 μl ethylacetate. The organic phase (300 μl) was added to 3 ml high flash point liquid scintillation cocktail (Packard) and the radioactivity quantified with a Beckman LS6000TA liquid scintillation counter. For Km determinations, substrate concentration was varied from 0 to 400 μm.

The identity of the enzymic reaction products was ascertained by HPLC-MS using a Finnigan MAT TSQ 7000 (electrospray voltage 4.5 kV, capillary temperature 220° C., carrier gas N₂) coupled to a Micro-tech Ultra-Plus Micro-LC equipped with an Ultrasep RP18 column; 5 μm; 1×10 mm), Solvent system (A) 99.8% (v/v) H₂O, 0.2% HOAc (B) 99.8% CH₃CN (v/v), 0.2% HOAc; gradient: 0-15 min 10-90% B, 15-25 min 90% B; flow 70 μl min⁻¹). The collision-induced dissociation (CID; collision energy, −25 eV; collision gas, argon; collision pressure, 1.8×10⁻³ Torr) mass spectra for the tetrahydrobenzylisoquinoline alkaloids were recorded.

General Methods—Total RNA was isolated and RNA gels were run and blotted as described previously (20). Genomic DNA was isolated and DNA gels were run and blotted according to (21). cDNA clones were labeled by PCR labeling with [□-³²P]dATP. Hybridized RNA on RNA gel blots and DNA on DNA gel blots were visualized with a STORM phosphor imager (Molecular Dynamics). The entire nucleotide sequence on both DNA strands of the full-length clone was determined by dideoxy cycle sequencing using internal DNA sequences for the design of deoxyoligonucleotides as sequencing primers. Saturation curves and double reciprocal plots were constructed with the Fig. P program Version 2.7 (Biosoft, Cambridge, UK). The influence of pH on enzyme activity was monitored in sodium citrate (pH 4-6), sodium phosphate (pH 6-7.0) and Tris-HCl (pH 7.0-9), glycine/NaOH (pH 9-10.5) buffered solutions.

B. Results

Amino Acid Sequence Analysis of a Putative O-Methyltransferase and Isolation of the Corresponding cDNA—Latex was harvested from field-grown P. somniferum by incising capsules 3-6 days after flower petal fall. The exuded latex was immediately added to ice-cold potassium phosphate buffer containing 20 mM sodium ascorbate and 500 mM mannitol, pH 7.2. The latex buffer ratio was approximately 1:1. Particulates were removed by centrifugation (22, 23) prior to two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic resolution of the proteins in the 1000×g supernatant according to (24) (FIG. 2). Internal amino acid microsequencing of proteins in the size range expected for plant methyltransferase monomers (approximately 40 kDa) yielded five peptides from a single protein that was homologous to O-methyltransferases. The amino acid sequences of these five peptides are as follows:

OMT-Pep 1 RTEAE (SEQ. ID NO: 24) OMT-Pep 2 VIIVDCVLRPDGNDL (SEQ. ID NO: 12) OMT-Pep 3 VGGDMFVDIPEADAV (SEQ. ID NO: 13) OMT-Pep 4 ILLNNAGFPRYNVIRTPAFPcII (SEQ. ID NO: 14) EA OMT-Pep 5 DGFSGIAGSLVDGG (SEQ. ID NO: 15)

Degenerated oligodeoxynucleotide primers were derived from OMT-Pep 1 and OMT-Pep 5 as shown below:

OMT-Pep 5 sense primer: (SEQ. ID NO: 16) 5′-GCI GGI A/T C/G I C/T TI GTI GAC/T GTI GGI GG-3′ OMT-Pep 1 antisense primer: (SEQ. ID NO: 17) 5′-C/T TC IGC C/T TC IGT ICG/T C/T TC CTT-3′ PCR amplification of P. somniferum cDNA prepared from stem poly (A)⁺ RNA yielded a DNA band of the expected size (approximately 400 bp) upon analysis by agarose gel electrophoresis. Subcloning of the PCR product into pGEM-T Easy followed by nucleotide sequence determination of randomly chosen samples identified two independent O-methyltransferase-encoding partial cDNA clones denoted PSOMT1 and PSOMT2. Each O-methyltransferase partial sequence was used to design specific oligodeoxynucleotide primers for RACE-PCR, by which cDNAs containing the entire open reading frames for both O-methyltransferases were generated. The details of these experiments are provided in the Experimental Procedures section.

Sequence Analyses of O-Methyltransferases—Translation of the complete nucleotide sequences of PSOMT1 and PSOMT2 yielded polypeptides of 356 and 347 amino acids, respectively. Amino acid sequence alignment carried out using the program from Heidelberg Unix Sequence Analysis Resources demonstrated 38.9% identity of the two proteins. Amino acid sequences of O-methyl transfer enzymes contain consensus sequences putatively involved in catalysis. Conserved motifs A, B, C, J, K and L proposed by Joshi and Chiang (2) are shown for PSOMT1 and PSOMT2 as shaded regions in FIG. 3.

A phylogenetic diagram of forty-four putative and defined O-methyltransferase amino acid sequences from seventeen plants was constructed using the Phylogeny Inference Package program (PHYLIP Version 3.57c) (FIG. 4). Among these forty-four sequences, PSOMT1 showed the closest relationship to a catechol 3-O-methyltransferase from Pinus taeda (loblolly pine) (32) and to a putative caffeic acid O-methyltransferase from Monterey pine Pinus radiata. In contrast, PSOMT2 grouped together with norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase from C. japonica (5). The next most closely related sequence was 3′-hydroxy-N-methylcoclaurine 4′-O-methyltransferase, also from C. japonica (5). These new P. somniferum O-methyl transfer enzymes group more closely to isoquinoline biosynthetic O-methyltransferases from C. japonica than to those identified from T. tuberosum (4). Table III below shows results of some of the sequence comparisons, indicating % amino acid identity. Abbreviations are given in Table II above. The results of the phylogenetic analysis formed the basis for the enzymes assays that were later carried out with heterologously expressed cDNAs as reported below.

TABLE III Amino Acid Sequence comparisons Ps6OMT Ps7OMT ttu6OMT1 ttu6OMT2 Cj6OMT Cj4OMT PraCafOMT PtaOMT Ps6OMT — 36 29.1 28 63.4 52.2 Ps7OMT 36 — 32.3 32 35.7 32.3 44.1 44.4 ttu6OMT1 29.1 32.3 — 93.6 30.8 30.6 ttu6OMT2 28 32 93.6 — 30 32 Cj6OMT 63.4 35.7 30.8 30 — 50.4 Cj 4OMT 52.2 32.3 30.6 32 50.4 —

Gene Expression Analyses—RNA gel blot analysis suggests that PSOMT1 is expressed predominantly in bud and stem, and to a much lesser degree, in leaf of P. somniferum (FIG. 5). In contrast, PSOMT2 transcript is detectable in bud, stem, leaf and root, and to a lesser degree in capsule (FIG. 5). The distribution of PSOMT2 transcript parallels the distribution of transcript of several other genes of tetrahydrobenzylisoquinoline biosynthesis in P. somniferum. Cyp80b1 that encodes the cytochrome P-450-dependent monooxygenase (S)—N-methylcoclaurine 3′-hydroxylase (8,9) common to the biosynthetic pathways of all the P. somniferum alkaloids, salAT that encodes salutaridinol 7-O-acetyltransferase (13) and cor1 that encodes codeinone reductase (14), both specific to morphine biosynthesis, are all expressed in bud, capsule, leaf, root and stem. This gene transcript distribution of PSOMT2 taken together with the results of the phylogenetic analysis is congruent with PSOMT2 encoding norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase of (S)-reticuline biosynthesis (4,5).

The comparative transcript distribution and phylogenetic analysis of PSOMT1 suggests that the gene product may be involved in tetrahydrobenzylisoquinoline alkaloid formation, but not directly in either the (S)-reticuline or the morphine biosynthetic pathways.

Purification and Functional Characterization of Recombinant Enzymes—The PSOMT1 and PSOMT2 cDNAs were each constructed to express the recombinant proteins with six histidine residues elongating the amino terminus. The proteins were then purified from S. frugiperda Sf9 cell culture medium in one step by cobalt affinity chromatography to yield electrophoretically homogeneous proteins. PSOMT1 and PSOMT2 each have relative molecular masses of 43 kDa as determined by SDS-PAGE. This compares with the calculated molecular masses of 39,841 and 38,510 based on the translation of the nucleotide sequences. The native relative molecular masses were determined by gel filtration on a calibrated Sephacryl 200 column (Pharmacia). PSOMT1 and PSOMT2 are each homodimers with an Mr of 85 and 80 kDa, respectively. This is consistent with that observed for norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferases of (S)-reticuline biosynthesis in T. tuberosum (4).

Radioassay of pure, recombinant O-methyltransferases using [methyl-³H]-AdoMet together with each of forty different substrates demonstrated that PSOMT1 and PSOMT2 are relatively substrate-specific (Table IV below). PSOMT1 methylates the simple catechols guaiacol and isovanillic acid as well as the tetrahydrobenzylisoquinolines (R)-reticuline, (S)-reticuline, (R,S)-orientaline, (R)-protosinomenine and (R,S)-isoorientaline. PSOMT2 is more specific, methylating only (R,S)-norcoclaurine, (R)-norprotosinomenine, (S)-norprotosinomenine and (R,S)-isoorientaline. The limited quantities of (R,S)-orientaline prohibited further kinetic characterization of methylation of this particular substrate.

PSOMT1 has a pH optimum at 8.0 for guaiacol, (R)-reticuline and (S)-reticuline. The optimal pH for methylation of (R)-protosinomenine and isovanillic acid are 9.0 and 7.5, respectively, whereas the optimal pH for methylation of (R,S)-isoorientaline ranges from 7.5-9.0. PSOMT2 methylates (R,S)-norcoclaurine over a wide pH range (6.0-9.0). Methyl transfer to (R)-norprotosinomenine, (S)-norprotosinomenine and (R,S)-isoorientaline has an optimum at pH 7.5. The temperature optima for PSOMT1 with various the substrates are: guaiacol, (R)-reticuline and (S)-reticuline (37° C.), (R)-protosinomenine (39° C.), (R,S)-isoorientaline and isovanillic acid (37-41° C.). PSOMT2 optimally methylated all substrates at 37-41° C.

The kinetic parameters determined for methylation of each substrate of PSOMT1 and PSOMT2 are shown in Table V. As designated by the ratio k_(cat)/K_(m), PSOMT1 methylates (R)-reticuline and (S)-reticuline with equal efficiency. Both substrates occur in P. somniferum, but only (R)-reticuline is specific to morphine biosynthesis. The high k_(cat)/K_(m), ratio for guaiacol (135% of those values determined for reticuline) does not correlate with in vivo significance, since this simple catechol has not been reported to occur in P. somniferum. Likewise, (R)-protosinomenine, (R,S)-isoorientaline and isovanillic acid do not occur in this plant. The highest k_(cat)/K_(m), ratio for PSOMT2 was obtained with (R,S)-norcoclaurine as substrate. The next best substrates are (R)- and (S)-norprotosinomenine with values equal to 55% of that obtained for norcoclaurine. However, norprotosinomenines do not naturally occur in P. somniferum.

TABLE IV Substrate specificities of PSOMT1 and PSOMT2 Substrate PSOMT1 PSOMT2 Phenolics:  1 Catechol 0 0  2 Protocatechuic acid 0 0  3 Dopamine 0 0  4 Caffeic acid 0 0  5 Guaiacol 242  0  6 Isovanillic acid 40  0  7 Vanillic acid 0 0 Isoquinoline alkaloids:  8 (R,S)-Norcoclaurine 0 100 ^(a )  9 (S)-Coclaurine 0 0 10 (R,S)-Isococlaurine 0 0 11 (R,S)-4{acute over ( )}-O-methylcoclaurine 0 0 12 (R,S)-Nororientaline 0 0 13 (R)-Norprotosinomenine 0 26  14 (S)-Norprotosinomenine 0 26  15 (R)-Norreticuline 0 0 16 (S)-Norreticuline 0 0 17 (R)-7-Dehydroxy-norreticuline 0 0 18 (S)-7-Dehydroxy-norreticuline 0 0 19 (R,S)-N-Methylcoclaurine 0 0 20 (R,S)-6-O-Methyllaudanosoline 0 0 21 (S)-4{acute over ( )}-O-Methyllaudanosoline 0 0 22 (R)-Reticuline 100 ^(a ) 0 23 (S)-Reticuline 100 ^(a ) 0 24 (R,S)-Orientaline 48  0 25 (R)-Protosinomenine 52  0 26 (R,S)-Isoorientaline 46  47  27 (R,S)-Laudanidine 0 0 28 (R,S)-Codamine 0 0 29 (S)-Scoulerine 0 0 30 (S)-Coreximine 0 0 31 Salutaridine 0 0 32 Codeine 0 0 33 Morphine 0 0 Flavonoids: 34 Quercetin 0 0 35 Quercetin-3-methylether 0 0 36 Quercetin-7-methylether 0 0 37 Luteolin 0 0 38 Morin 0 0 39 Cyanidin 0 0 Coumarin: 40 Esculetin 0 0 ^(a) 100% Activity of PSOMT1 and PSOMT2 is 1.5 and 2.0 pmoles/sec/mg total protein, respectively. Assay conditions are given in the experimental.

TABLE V Kinetic parameters of PSOMT1 and PSOMT2 for various substrates and co-substrate (AdoMet) k_(cat)/K_(m) K_(m) K_(m) V_(max) k_(cat) Substrate AdoMet Substrate Substrate Substrate (s⁻¹ · Enzyme Substrate (μM) (μM) (pmol/s) (s⁻¹) mM⁻¹) PSOMT1 Guaiacol 310 17 6 0.1 5.9 (S)-Reticuline 360 16 4 0.07 4.5 (R)-Reticuline 310 17 4 0.07 4.2 (R)-Protosinomenine 320 16 2 0.03 1.7 (R,S)-Isoorientaline 260 17 1 0.02 1.4 Isovanillic acid 150 14 1 0.02 1.2 PSOMT2 (R,S)-Norcoclaurine 100 10 5 0.08 7.4 (R)- 200 5 1 0.02 4.1 Norprotosinomenine (S)- 260 5 1 0.02 4.0 Norprotosinomenine (R,S)-Isoorientaline 280 29 2 0.03 1.0 Assay conditions are given in the experimental.

Structure Elucidation of Enzymic Products—Initial enzyme activity measurements were carried out using a radioassay. Many of the substrates tested contained more than one site of potential methylation. Since the radioassay is only a facile measure of whether methylation had likely occurred, but does not indicate the position of methyl transfer, each positive assay was repeated with unlabeled substrate and the enzymic product was subjected to HPLC-MS analysis. Tetrahydrobenzylisoquinolines readily cleave at low ionization energies into the corresponding isoquinoline- and benzyl ions. This enables identification of methylation at either moiety. The structures of the ten substrates that were methylated by either PSOMT1 or PSOMT2 are shown in FIG. 6. Each alkaloidal substrate was monitored for purity by HLPC-MS and the fragmentation pattern was determined. Enzymic product fragmentation patterns were then compared to those of substrate. All substrates were methylated by either PSOMT1 or PSOMT2 on the isoquinoline moiety. For example, (R)- or (S)-reticuline ([M+H]⁺ m/z 330) has the major fragment ions m/z 192 (isoquinoline) and m/z 137 (benzyl). The methylation of (R)- or (S)-reticuline by PSOMT1 results in a product of [M+H]⁺ m/z 344 (methylated (R)- or (S)-reticuline) with fragment ions at m/z 206 (isoquinoline+CH₂) and m/z 137 (unmodified benzyl). Likewise, (R,S)-norcoclaurine ([M+H]⁺ m/z 272) has the major fragment ions m/z 161 (isoquinoline) and m/z 107 (benzyl). The methylation of (R,S)-norcoclaurine by PSOMT2 results in a product of [M+H]⁺ m/z 286 (methylated (R,S)-norcoclaurine) with fragment ions at m/z 175 (isoquinoline+CH₂) and m/z 107 (unmodified benzyl).

Surprising results were obtained when the PSOMT1 methylation products of (R,S)-orientaline and (R,S)-isoorientaline were analyzed by HPLC-MS. The fragment ions obtained for the methylation products of orientaline are shown in FIG. 7. Methylation of the 7-hydroxyl group resulted in the main enzymic product 7-O-methylorientaline. Approximately 1% of the product produced is the double methylated 7,4′-O-dimethylorientaline (laudanosine) and the monomethylated 4′-O-methylorientaline.

The identification of new O-methyltransferases presented herein follows on from a first attempt to use proteome analysis to identify proteins in latex of P. somniferum (24, 30). Latex collected from capsules was resolved into a cytosolic and a vesicular fraction by centrifugation and the cytosolic proteins were then resolved by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. From internal amino acid sequence determination of these proteins, one with homology to plant O-methyltransferases was identified. Using RT-PCR followed by RACE-PCR, two cDNAs PSOMT1 and PSOMT2 encoding complete open reading frames were isolated.

A sequence comparison of the translations of PSOMT1 and PSOMT2 with those sequences available in the GenBank/EMBL databases revealed that PSOMT1 grouped with proteins from P. radiata of unknown function and that PSOMT2 was likely functionally equivalent to (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase from C. japonica (5). Using amino acid sequence comparison to predict the in vivo function of plant O-methyltransferases is not trivial due to the broad substrate specificities that can be found for closely related enzymes (4). To overcome the uncertainties associated with phylogenetic comparison, PSOMT1 and PSOMT2 were each introduced into a baculovirus expression vector and the corresponding proteins PSOMT1 and PSOMT2 were produced in S. frugiperda Sf9 cell culture. Forty compounds were tested as potential substrates for the two enzymes. Most of these substances were tetrahydrobenzylisoquinoline alkaloids, but simple catechols and a few common phenylpropanoid-derived compounds were also included. PSOMT1 O-methylated guaiacol, isovanillic acid, (R)-reticuline, (S)-reticuline, (R,S)-orientaline, (R)-protosinomenine and (R,S)-isoorientaline. PSOMT2 O-methylated (R,S)-norcoclaurine, (R)-norprotosinomenine, (S)-norprotosinomenine and (R,S)-isoorientaline.

The broad substrate specificities of plant O-methyltransferases can make the assignment of an in vivo role to these enzymes quite challenging. A comparison of the k_(cat)/K_(m) ratio for the various substrates suggested that the in vivo substrates for PSOMT1 are likely (R)-reticuline and (S)-reticuline. Guaiacol demonstrated the highest k_(cat)/K_(m) ratio, but this catechol has not been reported to accumulate in P. somniferum and could simply represent a fortuitous methylation in vitro. PSOMT2, on the other hand, clearly methylated (R,S)-norcoclaurine most efficiently. The k_(cat)/K_(m) ratios for (R)-norprotosinomenine and (S)-norprotosinomenine were 55% of that for (R,S)-norcoclaurine, but norprotosinomenine has been reported to occur in the legume Erythrina lithosperma, not in P. somniferum (25). The O-methylation of norprotosinomenine, therefore, also appears to be a fortuitous in vitro reaction catalyzed by PSOMT2.

Elucidation of the structures of the enzymic products was done by HPLC-MS. Mass spectroscopic analysis of tetrahydrobenzylisoquinoline alkaloids exploits the ready fragmentation of these types of molecules into two halves, an isoquinoline moiety and a benzyl moiety. Methylation of either portion of the molecule can be readily identified. PSOMT2 O-methylated (R,S)-norcoclaurine, (R)-norprotosinomenine, (S)-norprotosinomenine and (R,S)-isoorientaline on the isoquinoline moiety. In the case of (R,S)-norcoclaurine, both C-6 and C-7 are hydroxylated. (R)-norprotosinomenine, (S)-norprotosinomenine and (R,S)-isoorientaline all have a free hydroxyl group at C-6, but C-7 is methoxylated. This indicates that the position of O-methylation of these molecules is at C-6. Based upon the phylogenetic analysis and the structures of the methylated alkaloidal products, it can be concluded that PSOMT2 encodes the tetrahydroisoquinoline biosynthetic enzyme (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase. In P. somniferum, this enzyme participates in the early steps of (S)-reticuline biosynthesis, which intermediate leads to numerous alkaloids of the morphinan, benzo[c]phenanthridine, papaverine and phthalideisoquinoline types that are accumulated in this plant. The distribution of PSOMT2 transcript in bud, stem, leaf, root, and capsule is consistent with this role since these are all major sites of accumulation of one or the other of these alkaloid classes (i.e. morphinans in latex and benzo[c]phenanthridines in root).

The methylating capacity of PSOMT1 was more promiscuous than that of PSOMT2. PSOMT1 O-methylation of guaiacol, isovanillic acid, (R)-reticuline, (S)-reticuline, (R,S)-orientaline, (R)-protosinomenine and (R,S)-isoorientaline resulted in a more complicated product profile. HPLC-MS analysis indicated that (R)-reticuline, (S)-reticuline, (R,S)-orientaline, each of which has a C-6 methoxy group and a C-7 hydroxy moiety, were O-methylated at C-7. In contrast, (R)-protosinomenine and (R,S)-isoorientaline each has a free hydroxyl group at C-6 and is methoxylated at C-7. These molecules were O-methylated by PSOMT1 at C-6. The ratio of k_(cat)/K_(m) for C-7 O-methylation compared to C-6 O-methylation was 3.8:1, suggesting that C-7 O-methylation is preferred. Multiple products were detected when either (R,S)-orientaline or (R,S)-isoorientaline were used as substrate. In addition to methylation of the isoquinoline half of the tetrahydrobenzylisoquinolines, the benzyl moiety was also methylated. (R,S)-orientaline and (R,S)-isoorientaline differ from the other tetrahydrobenzylisoquinoline substrates in that the benzyl ring is 3′-methoxylated and 4′-hydroxylated. Reticuline and the protosinomenines are 4′-methoxylated and 3′-hydroxylated. The free 4′-hydroxy group of (R,S)-orientaline and (R,S)-isoorientaline is methylated by PSOMT1. 4′-O-methylation appears to occur independent of both hydroxyl groups of the isoquinoline nucleus being methylated, since three products can be identified by HPLC-MS, representing monomethylation at the isoquinoline moiety, monomethylation at the benzyl moiety and double methylation. A heterologously expressed O-methyltransferase from Catharanthus roseus cell suspension cultures that methylates the flavonol myricetin at both the 3′- and 5′-hydroxyl groups has recently been reported (26). Given free rotation around the bond between the B and C rings, these two hydroxyl moieties can be seen as chemically equivalent, whereas the two hydroxyl groups methylated by PSOMT1 can be viewed as chemically unique.

The main enzymic reaction product formed by PSOMT1 (approximately 99%) results from monomethylation of the isoquinoline group. Based upon these combined kinetic and mass spectroscopic results, it is concluded that PSOMT1 encodes (R,S)-reticuline 7-O-methyltransferase, a new enzyme of tetrahydrobenzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis in P. somniferum. The product of this reaction, 7-O-methylreticuline(laudanine) is a natural product that has been reported to occur in opium (27) and this occurrence has been confirmed for the variety of P. somniferum used herein (A. J. Fist, personal communication). The distribution of PSOMT1 transcript predominantly in bud and stem correlates with latex as the site of laudanine accumulation.

Enzymic O-methylation of tetrahydrobenzylisoquinolines has been reported to be catalyzed by catechol O-methyltrasferase (COMT) isolated from rat liver as part of a program investigating the nature and biosynthetic origin of mammalian alkaloids (28). In that particular report, COMT O-methylated norcoclaurine at the 6-hydroxy- and 7-hydroxy positions in a ratio of 8:2. This low specificity compares to that of norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase characterized from T. tuberosum, which methylated tetrahydrobenzylisoquinolines that contained a catechol- and, to a lesser degree, a guaiacol moiety (4). The P. somniferum 7-O- and 6-O-methyltransferases characterized herein appear to methylate with higher regiospecificity.

REFERENCES

-   1. Ibrahim, R. K., Bruneau, A., and Bantignies, B. (1998) Plant Mol.     Biol. 36, 1-10 -   2. Joshi, C. P., and Chiang, V. L. (1998) Plant Mol. Biol. 37,     663-674 -   3. Schröder, G., Wehinger, E., and Schröder, J. (2002)     Phytochemistry 59, 1-8 -   4. Frick, S., and Kutchan, T. M. (1999) Plant J. 17, 329-339 -   5. Morishige, T., Tsujita, T., Yamada, Y., and Sato, F. (2000) J.     Biol. Chem. 275, 23398-23405 -   6. Maury, S., Geoffroy, P., and Legrand, M. (1999) Plant Physiol.     121, 215-223 -   7. Kutchan, T. M. (1998) in The Alkaloids Vol. 50, (ed. G. Cordell)     Academic Press, San Diego, 257-316 -   8. Pauli, H. H., and Kutchan, T. M. (1998) Plant J. 13, 793-801 -   9. Huang, F.-C., and Kutchan, T. M. (2000) Phytochemistry 53,     555-564 -   10. Rosco, A., Pauli, H. H., Priesner, W., and Kutchan, T. M. (1997)     Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 348, 369-377 -   11. Dittrich, H. and Kutchan, T. M. (1991) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.     USA 88, 9969-9973 -   12. Facchini, P. J., Penzes, C., Johnson A. G., and Bull, D. (1996)     Plant Physiol. 112, 1669-1677 -   13. Grothe, T., Lenz, R., and Kutchan, T. M. (2001) J. Biol. Chem.     276, 30717-30723 -   14. Unterlinner, B., Lenz, R., and Kutchan, T. M. (1999) Plant J.     18, 465-475 -   15. Gamborg, O. L., Miller, R. A., and Ojina, K. (1968) Exp. Cell.     Res. 50, 151-158 -   16. Kutchan, T. M., Bock, A., and Dittrich, H. (1994) Phytochemistry     35, 353-360 -   17. Pauli, H., and Kutchan, T. M. (1998) Plant J. 13, 793-801 -   18. Rüffer, M., Nagakura, N., and Zenk, M. H. (1983) Planta Med. 49,     131-137 -   19. Rüffer, M., Nagakura, N., and Zenk, M. H. (1983) Planta Med. 49,     196-198 -   20. Pauli, H., and Kutchan, T. M. (1998) Plant J. 13, 793-801 -   21. Bracher, D., and Kutchan, T. M. (1992) Arch. Biochem. Biophys.     294, 717-723 -   22. Roberts, M. F., McCarthy, D., Kutchan, T. M., and     Coscia, C. J. (1983) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 222, 599-609 -   23. Antoun, M. D., and Roberts, M. F. (1975) Phytochemistry 14,     909-914 -   24. Decker, G., Wanner, G., Zenk, M. H., and Lottspeich, F. (2000)     Electrophoresis 21, 3500-3516 -   25. Ghosal, S., Majumdar, S. K., and Chakraborti, A. (1971)     Austral. J. Chem. 24, 2733-2735 -   26. Cacace, S., Schröder, G., Wehinger, E., Strack, D., Schmidt, J.,     and Schröder, J. (2003) Phytochemistry 62, 127-137 -   27. Small, L. F., and Lutz, R. E. (1932) Chemistry of the Opium     Alkaloids, Supplement No. 103, Public Health Reports, Washington, p.     34 -   28. Sekine, Y., Creveling, C., Bell, M., and Brossi, A. (1990) Helv.     Chim. Acta 73, 426-432 -   29. Fisinger, U. Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der     Fakultät für Chemie und Pharmazie der Ludwig-Maximiliens-Universität     zu München: “Untersuchungen zur Morphinbiosynthese in der Ratte     Rattus rattus L. und im Schlafmohn Papaver somniferum L.” 1998. -   30. Decker, G. T. Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der     Fakultät für Chemie und Pharmazie der Ludwig-Maximiliens-Universität     zu München: “Der Milchsaft von Papaver somniferum. Die     Proteinanalyse als Ansatz zur Funktionsanalyse” 2001. -   31. Facchini, P. J. and Park, S. U. GenBank accession n^(o)     AY217335. -   32. Li et al., (1997), PNAS 94, 5461-5466. 

1.-18. (canceled)
 19. An isolated or purified protein comprising the amino acid sequence of FIG. 13 (SEQ ID NO: 21) or a variant of the amino acid sequence of FIG. 13 (SEQ ID NO: 21), said variant having at least 70% identity with the PSOMT2 amino acid sequence of FIG. 13 (SEQ ID NO: 21) over a length of at least 300 amino acids and, said variant having 0-methyltransferase activity.
 20. The protein according to claim 19 wherein the variant has at least 80% identity with the PSOMT2 amino acid sequence of FIG. 13 (SEQ ID NO: 21) over a length of at least 300 amino acids.
 21. The protein according to claim 19 wherein the variant has at least 80% identity with the PSOMT2 amino acid sequence of FIG. 13 (SEQ ID NO: 21) over a length of at least 300 amino acids.
 22. The protein according to claim 21, wherein the variant has at least 95% identity with the PSOMT2 amino acid sequence of FIG. 13 (SEQ ID NO: 21) over a length of at least 300 amino acids and wherein said variant contains one or more conserved amino acid motifs, said motifs comprising amino acid sequence LVDVGGG, PXXDAXXMK, XGKVI, DLPHV, HVGGDMF, or GKERT, wherein X represents any amino acid.
 23. The protein according to claim 22, wherein the variant has at least 97% identity with the PSOMT2 amino acid sequence of FIG. 13 (SEQ ID NO: 21) over a length of at least 300 amino acids.
 24. The protein according to claim 23 comprising the PSOMT2 amino acid sequence illustrated in FIG. 3 (SEQ ID NO: 3).
 25. The protein according to claim 23 comprising the PSOMT2a amino acid sequence illustrated in FIG. 13 (SEQ ID NO: 13).
 26. A protein or peptide comprising of a fragment of the protein illustrated in FIG. 16 (SEQ ID NO: 25), said fragment having a length of 100 to 345 amino acids, including the portion spanning at least one of positions 93, 150, 233, 245 and 274, wherein X₉₃, X₁₅₀, X₂₃₃, X₂₄₅, X₂₇₄ are chosen from the following amino acids: X₉₃: Pro, Val X₁₅₀: Val, Glu X₂₃₃: Ser, Pro X₂₄₅: Ala, Gly; X₂₇₄: Gly, Val,

with the proviso that X₉₃ is not Pro when X₁₅₀, X₂₃₃, X₂₄₅, X₂₇₄ have the following meanings: Xaa₁₅₀ is Glu, Xaa₂₃₃. is Ser, Xaa₂₄₅ is Ala and Xaa₂₇₄ is Gly, said protein or peptide having O-methyltransferase activity.
 27. The protein or peptide according to claim 26, comprising or consisting of a fragment of the PSOMT2 protein illustrated in FIG. 3 (SEQ ID NO: 3), said fragment having a length of 100 to 345 amino acids, including the portion spanning at least one of positions 93, 150, 233, 245 and 274 of the sequence illustrated in FIG. 3 (SEQ ID NO: 3).
 28. The protein or peptide according to claim 26, comprising or consisting of a fragment of the PSOMT2a protein illustrated in FIG. 13 (SEQ. ID n° 21), said fragment having a length of 100 to 345 amino acids, including the portion spanning at least one of positions 93, 150, 233, 245 and 274 of the sequence illustrated in FIG. 13 (SEQ ID NO: 21).
 29. The protein or peptide according to claim 27 having 150 to 300 amino acids.
 30. The protein according to claim 19, which is a dimer comprising two protein sub-units, each sub-unit being chosen from any one of proteins as defined in claim
 19. 31. The protein according to claim 19, having (R,S)-norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase activity.
 32. An isolated nucleic acid molecule encoding a protein according to claim
 19. 33.-45. (canceled)
 46. A cell transformed or transfected by a nucleic acid molecule according to claim
 19. 47. The cell according to claim 46 which is a prokaryotic cell.
 48. (canceled)
 49. Cell according to claim 46 which is a eukaryotic cell.
 50. Cell according to claim 49 which is a yeast cell. 51.-64. (canceled)
 65. Method for the production of methylated tetrahydrobenzylisoquinolines, said method comprising the steps of: i) contacting in vitro a protein having norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase activity with a substrate chosen from (R,S)-norcoclaurine, (R,S)-isoorientaline, (R)-norprotosinomenine and (S)-norprotosinomenine at pH 6.0 to 9.0, wherein the protein having norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase activity is a protein according to claim 19; ii) recovering the methylated tetrahydrobenzylisoquinolines thus produced.
 66. (canceled)
 67. A method for producing a protein having norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase activity, said method comprising i) transforming or transfecting a cell with a nucleic acid molecule according to claim 32, in conditions permitting the expression of the protein having norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase activity, ii) propagating the said cell, and iii) recovering the thus-produced protein having norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase activity. 